Day 1: 575 Miles and Counting

Cheryl and I met our nephews, Jim and Tom, at the Bob Evans on the west side of Columbus for breakfast at 7:15 a.m. - a ridiculous hour for being on vacation - but there was rubber to be burned and things to see! Out I-70 West we headed, and in Indianapolis we had a bit of a delay finding I-74 . . . . Google's "shortest route" doesn't always work that way and certainly doesn't take construction into account which, in this case, closed the entrance ramp. But, a stop at a nearby hotel to ask for directions (which still weren't right) was still a surmountable situation, and soon we were headed northwest toward Peoria, Illinois.

Lunch was at McDonald's near Peoria, a refueling, and off again. The weather was mostly overcast which gave us a nice break from the heat. When it wasn't cloudy, the sun was damned hot as expected. And, after scolding my nephew about worrying about gas locations, I bypassed one just as my "low gas" indicator came on, and it was nearly a problem. On fumes, I made it 20 more miles to a gas station near the Quad City, Iowa airport, and vowed I'd never scold him again for gasoline concerns!

Off again in Iowa, we saw the cornfields full of beautiful corn, and were soon crosssing the Mississippi River. Know how sometimes you get a song in your head and it stays there regardless? For me, in crossing the Mississippi, into my head popped Eddie Albert singing "Land . . . spreading out so far and wide" from one of my childhood favorite TV shows, Green Acres. (Why? Because the small town I grew up in could've been Hooterville with its collection of eccentric characters.)

And, no sign of rain . . .until the last twenty miles. We pulled off on a side road to don our rain suits and, as is often the case, the rain stopped immediately after we were properly garbed and sweating profusely as one does when they're wearing plastic on a hot summer day.

We're staying tonight in Iowa City, home of the Hawkeyes (uggghhh) and had a bit of a hard time finding the hotel as it is off the road without a sign to show where it is. Fortunately Tom had spied it from the interstate so we made it without too much delay. And, the kind people here let us park our bikes right up near the entrance under their large awning. Not only does that keep them dry, but secure as well which is important for expensive Harley Davidson bikes!

Big ride tomorrow . . .about 590 miles to Murdo, South Dakota, so the entire day is spent traversing Iowa and the southern part of Minnesota. (I can hardly say that word without thinking of the way Minnesotans speak with that funky accent!). More pictures from the road tomorrow. . . . .thanks for joining us on this adventure!

Signed - Ol-ee-vah and Lisa (New YORK is where I'd rather be!) Douglas